In an effort to put a stop to what they argue is the “illegal” and “unconscionable” withholding of necessary and vital aid to the people of Puerto Rico, New York Democratic Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Nydia Velázquez joined with Sen. Bernie Sanders on Monday in demanding President Donald Trump immediately transfer already approved federal disaster assistance to address the island territory’s “urgent humanitarian needs” following recent earthquakes and aftershocks.
In a letter (pdf) sent to the Trump administration, the lawmakers cited a nation still reeling from the destruction left by Hurricane Maria over two years ago and said there was no excuse to deny Puerto Ricans the help they so desperately need. The letter called on Trump to immediately approve a major disaster declaration submitted by the Puerto Rican government on January 12; to release aid money previously approved by Congress for humanitarian relief; and to direct FEMA to undertake an urgent response to the ongoing disaster.
“Let us be clear: Postponing the disbursement of this vital assistance any longer — in the face of the humanitarian needs of Puerto Rico — is simply shameful,” the letter states.
The people of Puerto Rico have been battered by hurricanes and earthquakes. They need humanitarian assistance now.
@NydiaVelazquez, @AOC and I say to Trump: Do your job and release the $18 billion in disaster funding that Congress already approved. pic.twitter.com/7UFWKcY3Ih— Bernie Sanders (@SenSanders) January 13, 2020
The new letter follows a similar effort last week by House Democrats who urged Trump to release more than $18 billion in aid that was approved for the island following the 2017 devastation caused by Maria.
“We call upon the White House to stop its unlawful withholding of funds from Puerto Rico,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said at a press conference Thursday. “There are needs that need to be met, there has been a disaster designated, but the ongoing withholding of funds appropriated by Congress to Puerto Rico is illegal.”
There are already hundreds of millions in damages resulting from #PuertoRicoEarthquakes;
Loss of American life;
People falling ill in campsites, displaced from their homes.
Yet the Trump Admin is still ILLEGALLY withholding funds #ForThePeople allocated in 2017. @News12BK pic.twitter.com/HQhN5MdWyk
— Rep. Nydia Velazquez (@NydiaVelazquez) January 13, 2020
“The hurricane devastated the island and today, tens of thousands of people are still living under tarp roofs,” Velázquez, Ocasio-Cortez, and Sanders wrote in their new letter to Trump. “In recent days, the quakes have cost millions in damages, destroyed hundreds of homes, caused widespread electricity blackouts, and forced residents to resort to sleeping in roofless shelters due to the fear of being buried in their own homes by another earthquake.”
Highlighting the effort of the lawmakers on social media, Mayor Carmen Yulín Cruz of Puerto Rico’s capital city San Juan — who serves as national co-chair for Sanders’ 2020 presidential campaign — said, “Sanders has been consistent in making sure the people of Puerto Rico are treated with dignity. In fact, Bernie Sanders has been consistent in making sure ALL people are treated with dignity.”
Truthout Is Preparing to Meet Trump’s Agenda With Resistance at Every Turn
Dear Truthout Community,
If you feel rage, despondency, confusion and deep fear today, you are not alone. We’re feeling it too. We are heartsick. Facing down Trump’s fascist agenda, we are desperately worried about the most vulnerable people among us, including our loved ones and everyone in the Truthout community, and our minds are racing a million miles a minute to try to map out all that needs to be done.
We must give ourselves space to grieve and feel our fear, feel our rage, and keep in the forefront of our mind the stark truth that millions of real human lives are on the line. And simultaneously, we’ve got to get to work, take stock of our resources, and prepare to throw ourselves full force into the movement.
Journalism is a linchpin of that movement. Even as we are reeling, we’re summoning up all the energy we can to face down what’s coming, because we know that one of the sharpest weapons against fascism is publishing the truth.
There are many terrifying planks to the Trump agenda, and we plan to devote ourselves to reporting thoroughly on each one and, crucially, covering the movements resisting them. We also recognize that Trump is a dire threat to journalism itself, and that we must take this seriously from the outset.
Last week, the four of us sat down to have some hard but necessary conversations about Truthout under a Trump presidency. How would we defend our publication from an avalanche of far right lawsuits that seek to bankrupt us? How would we keep our reporters safe if they need to cover outbreaks of political violence, or if they are targeted by authorities? How will we urgently produce the practical analysis, tools and movement coverage that you need right now — breaking through our normal routines to meet a terrifying moment in ways that best serve you?
It will be a tough, scary four years to produce social justice-driven journalism. We need to deliver news, strategy, liberatory ideas, tools and movement-sparking solutions with a force that we never have had to before. And at the same time, we desperately need to protect our ability to do so.
We know this is such a painful moment and donations may understandably be the last thing on your mind. But we must ask for your support, which is needed in a new and urgent way.
We promise we will kick into an even higher gear to give you truthful news that cuts against the disinformation and vitriol and hate and violence. We promise to publish analyses that will serve the needs of the movements we all rely on to survive the next four years, and even build for the future. We promise to be responsive, to recognize you as members of our community with a vital stake and voice in this work.
Please dig deep if you can, but a donation of any amount will be a truly meaningful and tangible action in this cataclysmic historical moment. We are presently looking for 98 new monthly donors before midnight tonight.
We’re with you. Let’s do all we can to move forward together.
With love, rage, and solidarity,
Maya, Negin, Saima, and Ziggy